File Photo: Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a joint press conference with the US Secretary of State at the Foreign Ministry in Ankara. AFP
Fidan told reporters on Friday that the Istanbul meeting would “evaluate our progress and discuss what we can achieve together in the next stage.”
A ministry spokesperson confirmed that ministers from Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates had all been invited.
These foreign ministers previously met US President Donald Trump on September 23, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
“A glimmer of hope emerged, offering a glimmer of hope for everyone,” Fidan said during a joint news conference with Estonian counterpart Margus Tsahkna.
Fidan added that several key issues would be addressed during the meeting: “What are the obstacles to its implementation? What are the challenges to be faced? What are the next steps? What will we be discussing with our Western friends? And what support is there for the ongoing talks with the United States?”
Fidan also warned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “looking for a pretext to violate the ceasefire [in Gaza] and relaunch the genocide under the eyes of the whole world.”
Israel's genocidal war on Gaza has killed and injured over 200,000 Palestinians, with women and children making up the majority of the casualties, according to Gaza's health ministry.
Indiscriminate airstrikes by Israel have flattened large areas of Gaza, demolishing key infrastructure and raising concerns that many Hamas captives may have been killed in the bombings.
Turkey sent an 81-member disaster response team to Gaza a week ago to assist with search and rescue operations but is still waiting for Israeli approval to enter, Fidan said.
The Turkish foreign ministry is "working intensively," Fidan added, and the military is exploring the possibility of joining an international force to monitor the ceasefire.
However, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar stated on Monday that it would not be “reasonable” to allow Turkey to participate due to its “hostile approach” to Israel.
“So it is not reasonable for us to let their armed forces enter [the] Gaza Strip, and we will not agree to that, and we’ve communicated this to our American friends,” Saar said.
Since the ceasefire took effect on October 10, Israel has breached it at least twice, killing over 200 Palestinians, before declaring a return to ceasefire enforcement. Between Tuesday and Wednesday, airstrikes alone killed at least 100 Palestinians, the majority of whom were women and children.
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